Sweet Potato Casserole

A few years ago I got my tonsils out.  And when I say a few years ago, I don’t mean as a child.  I mean as an adult.  It was an awful experience.  On more than one occasion during the two weeks that I was completely incapacitated, a friend would walk into my apartment to find my in the fetal position on my living room floor, completely pathetic.  It’s because having your tonsils out as an adult is torture.  Complete and total torture.

One particularly cruel aspect was my losing my sense of taste.  And since my mom could only stay a few days and I was alone for most of my recovery, I did so much online symptom research that I convinced myself that I was going to be one of the small percentage of patients who lose it permanently.  Thankfully I only lost it for a few weeks.  Still, it was a horrible few weeks.  I didn’t eat for two weeks because when I was actually hungry and could swallow, my food tasted like cardboard mush.

At one of the lower points, I thought that if I just made something I liked, I could make myself eat it.  What I really wanted was a burrito, but I settled for a sweet potato.  I stuck it in the oven, etc etc, sprinkled it with brown sugar and pecans, and sat down on my couch.  Drumroll please…. it tasted like nothing.  Long story short, I cried for hours and sent very sad text messages to my mother.

The river of tears was partially because I was emotionally and physically exhausted, but also because I love sweet potatoes.  Especially when pecans and brown sugar are involved.  Which is why I love sweet potato casserole so much.  And I promise you, this recipe won’t disappoint.  It’s creamy, silky, crunchy, everything that you want in a casserole.  And the topping?  I practically live just for that topping.

Sweet Potato Casserole

For the casserole:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

6 cups mashed sweet potato

For the topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

4 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Peel, chop, and boil your sweet potatoes.  Mash, and set aside.  Beat eggs, sugar, and butter.  Add milk and vanilla, and combine with potatoes.  Spoon into a greased casserole dish.  Combine brown sugar, flour, butter, and pecans.  Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over potato mixture.

Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.